Culinary Arts Diploma Program

Program Overview

The Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Diploma is designed to help students prepare to explore opportunities in the culinary industry. You can expect to spend a significant amount of time in our commercial kitchens practicing and perfecting your skills. Experienced chefs can demonstrate culinary proficiencies and mentor you as you develop your creativity.

This hands-on program is all about food – preparing it, cooking it, serving it. The program progresses quickly from basic foundational skills to more advanced precision techniques that are the basis for creating any style of cuisine.

Recipe For Success

Start with the Basics: Safety & Sanitation and Culinary Foundations I

Every good professional cook begins by learning the basics: kitchen organization, how to talk about food, handle it safely and keep work areas sanitary. As part of this cooking certificate program you’ll be taught:

The terminology, standards and organization used in working kitchens.

Stocks and sauces, and taste and flavor.

How to handle food safely from acquisition to service.

Culminating with the nationally-accredited ServSafe® Food Safety exam for certification required to work in a professional kitchen.

Explore Hands on: Culinary Foundations II

Roll up your sleeves and learn foundational techniques essential to any style of cooking:

Slice and dice with classical knife cuts.

Get to know measurements, formulas and following recipes.

Create stocks, mother sauces, and soups, and cook with vegetables, grains and egg.

Go to Work: Culinary Foundations III

Turn your evolving skills to meat and seafood preparation. You can learn:

Identification, butchery, and fabrication of meats and seafood.

Charcuterie − including curing, smoking, forcemeats, and sausage.

Introductory plating techniques.

Begin to realize your own style as you get familiar with Le Cordon Bleu techniques.

Get Baking: Baking & Pastry

Become acquainted with the sweeter side of food, as you learn the way to bake, decorate and create pâtisserie. As part of this culinary arts certificate program you’ll be taught:

Application of classical techniques and meeting the demands of modern-day bakeries.

Experience Global Cooking Styles: Cuisine Across Cultures

At Le Cordon Bleu, culinary arts school, our programs will allow you to taste different cuisines and how they influence each other.

Cater to a Bigger Audience: Catering & Buffets*

Get a culinary arts certificate and study the business side of catering theme parties, weddings, holidays, and special events. Through this hands-on culinary arts certificate course, you can learn:

Classical and contemporary garde manger techniques.

How to prepare and serve food in a variety of settings.

Cyclical menu development and business aspects of catering operations.

Food service from preparation to delivery on the customer’s plate.

* This course is offered in the 12 month certificate program currently offered at the Le Cordon Bleu campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, Portland, San Francisco, and Scottsdale. (In Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando this program is official known as the Diploma in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts.)

Take it to the Real World: Externship

Put your skills into practice in an actual restaurant, hospitality establishment or business:

Work alongside culinary professionals.

Apply and perfect your skills.

Gain irreplaceable immersion in the industry with progressive work-place experience.

Stay with the same site or explore somewhere new for your second externship.

What You Can Do Here

Gain insight on nutrition, dietary fads, and recipe modifications

Study the history of food and development of cuisine

Explore global culinary heritage, cultures and influences

Receive training in food safety and sanitation

Discover international cuisine

Learn what’s involved in catering and buffets

Become versed in terminology, organization of working kitchens, chefs’ tools, commercial equipment, and volume food preparation

Slice and dice with classical knife cuts

Develop your abilities with measurements, formulas and following recipes

*Upon completion of the program, graduates should have the skills needed to pursue career opportunities in the culinary industry at an entry level. The various titles of “chef” generally apply to more advanced roles in the professional kitchen (for example, Sous Chef, Executive Chef). Graduates should not expect to become chefs upon graduation but are encouraged to work toward becoming a chef through the course of their careers. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary.

Gainful Emploment and other Student Disclosures

To see Gainful Employment and other disclosures, start by selecting a location or Online from the dropdown below:

Employment Rates

Given the fact that all of the rates reflected below are based on historical data and were subject to varying levels of audit and re-interpretation, students should not rely on them as an implicit or explicit representation or promise of future outcomes or employability following completion of a program of study. Indeed, there are numerous factors that affect a student’s ability to graduate and secure employment over which we have little or no control. Therefore, our school cannot and does not guarantee or estimate the likelihood of on-time completion, graduation, or employment for any student.

- GRADUATION RATE

The percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who started between
and who completed within 150% of the normal time period:

Graduation Rate

A first-time student has no prior postsecondary experience before enrolling at this campus. This means that a student who attended another college, university or other postsecondary school before enrolling at this school is not included in the calculation. The rate also does not include students initially enrolled part-time, taking individual classes (as compared to enrolling in a full program), or only auditing classes. These rates are calculated using the Student Right-to-Know formula in order to comply with U.S. Department of Education requirements. The statistics track all first-time, full-time and certificate or degree-seeking undergraduate students who began school during the date range and have completed within 150% of the normal program length. For example, for a two-year program, the graduation rate would include students who had completed within three years of beginning the program. This statistic is not specific to one program alone; rather, all applicable undergraduate programs are included in this overall rate. Information pertaining to the Graduation Rates of all postsecondary institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be found on the College Navigator website. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Find employment rates, financial obligations and other disclosures at chefs.edu/disclosures. Financial aid is available for those who qualify. Program offerings may vary by campus. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. Credits earned at Le Cordon Bleu are unlikely to transfer externally, but Le Cordon Bleu credits will transfer within Le Cordon Bleu if you choose to continue on and pursue a higher degree program with us. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary.

Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo, and Cordon Vert® are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation in the United States and Canada for education services. Cordontec® is a registered trademark of Career Education Corporation in the United States for education services.